Bell Hooks
The United States provides our society with the undeniable right to learn. The right to higher education is not limited to the middle and upper classes; it allows the less privileged, minorities, as well as both sexes, to receive an equal education. Two arguments which present interesting views on higher education are bell hook's "Keeping Close to Home" and Adrienne Rich's "What Does a Woman Need to Know?" Hooks views higher education with a concern for the underprivileged, whereas Rich views it with a concern for women. Of the two works, I personally do not agree with Rich's argument. Bell hooks views higher education to be a time in which we find ourselves and learn more about who we are. This concept remains difficult on the underprivileged because they do not want to be known for their background. They see themselves as less privileged, and therefore want to keep this hidden from their new society. These students face many obstacles in their lives; college presents a whole new and much larger challenge. The transition is also hard on them. They want to fit in and hide their past, but at the same time, they do not want to lose sight of their upbringings. Hooks felt that she was an outsider in c
Because of Adrienne Rich's extreme views and harsh tone towards men, I disagree with her view on higher education. Just as Rich, I do believe that women have the right to an education. Men do not have a hidden agenda to keep women powerless in the world as Rich implies. Despite the fact that this argument was given almost twenty years ago when women's rights were a controversy, her view of women, even then, is a bit demeaning. Her comment that motherhood deprives women of their power is ridiculous. Not only are the underprivileged discriminated against, but women are too. One extreme feminist side, Adrienne Rich claims that women are not getting what they deserve when it comes to higher education. Rich states, "There is no woman's college today which is providing young women with the education they need for survival as whole persons in a world which denies women wholeness"(45). This, of course, is all due to male dominance. Rich believes women are outsiders in man's world. She wants women to keep their outsider's view and not think like men when they are placed in a prominent position. The sense of male supremacy discourages women from performing at an equal level. This goes along with the idea that "feminist studies are 'unscholarly,' 'biased
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Approximate Word count = 853
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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